🇻🇦St. Martin I governed the Church as Pope from 649 to 655, a period marked by intense Christological debates. His main contribution was the condemnation of the heresy of Monothelitism, which claimed that Christ possessed only one will, the divine one, thus denying His full humanity. Against the will of the Byzantine Emperor Constans II, who supported the heresy for political reasons, Pope Martin convened the Lateran Council in 649, where the doctrine was solemnly condemned. In retaliation, the emperor ordered his arrest. The Pope was taken to Constantinople, where he suffered public humiliation, torture, and was condemned to exile. Sent to Chersonesus (modern-day Crimea), he died in 655 due to mistreatment and neglect. His firmness in defending the orthodox faith, sealed with his own suffering and death, led to his veneration as a martyr, the last Pope to receive this title.
📖 Epistle (1 Pt 5:1-4, 10-11)
Dearly beloved: The ancients therefore that are among you, I beseech, who am myself also an ancient, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ: as also a partaker of that glory which is to be revealed in time to come: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking care of it, not by constraint, but willingly, according to God: not for filthy lucre's sake, but voluntarily: Neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart. And when the prince of pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never fading crown of glory. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. To him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.
✝️ Gospel (Mt 16:13-19)
At that time, Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.
🤔 Reflections
🙏Today's Gospel transports us to the foundational moment of the Papacy, where Peter's confession of faith becomes the rock upon which Christ builds His Church. Jesus' question, "But whom do you say that I am?", is not merely rhetorical; it demands an answer that transcends human opinion and penetrates the divine mystery. Peter's response, "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God," is a direct revelation from the Father. Therefore, the authority he receives—the keys of the Kingdom and the power to bind and loose—is not a human power, but a participation in divine authority to guard and teach the revealed truth. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that this power of the keys "signifies the authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church" (CCC 553). St. Martin I exercised this authority to its ultimate consequences, understanding that his duty as Peter's successor was to protect the deposit of faith against heresies that threatened to disfigure the true face of Christ.
🛡️The Epistle of St. Peter, the first Pope, resonates powerfully in the life of St. Martin I. The Apostle exhorts the pastors to feed the flock "not by constraint, but willingly... being made a pattern of the flock." St. Martin did not defend the faith out of obligation or a quest for earthly glory, but out of an ardent love for Christ and the truth about His person. He became a model not only through his teaching but primarily through his suffering, mirroring the "prince of pastors" who laid down his life for his sheep. St. Augustine, reflecting on the pastoral office, said: "For you I am a bishop, with you I am a Christian. The former is a title of office, the latter of grace; the former is a danger, the latter is salvation" (Sermon 340, 1). St. Martin lived this drama intensely: the office of Pope placed him in mortal danger, but the grace of being a Christian led him to salvation through martyrdom, exchanging the earthly papal crown for the "never fading crown of glory."
🔗Today's liturgy weaves a profound connection between the confession of faith, Petrine authority, and the inevitability of suffering. The rock on which the Church is built is not Peter's human strength, but the divine truth he professed. To defend this truth is the primary mission of the Church and her Vicar on earth. However, as the Epistle warns, the path to glory passes through suffering: "after you have suffered a little, [God] will himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you." The martyrdom of St. Martin I is living proof that the "gates of hell"—be they heresies, persecutions, or political powers—shall not prevail against the Church. Her strength lies not in temporal power, but in fidelity to the confession at Caesarea Philippi. Pope Martin, by defending the existence of two wills in Christ, was defending the integrity of the Incarnation: a Christ with only a divine will would not be truly human and, therefore, could not save us. His suffering consolidated the faith of the Church and demonstrated that the power of the keys is ultimately the power to serve the truth, even at the cost of one's own life.
➡️See English version of the critical articles here.